Signal for railway-switches.



A. H. JOHNSON.

SIGNAL FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES.

AYPLIOATION FILED JUNE 9, 1911.

Patented Dec. 12,1911.

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A. H. JOHNSON.

SIGNAL FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 9, 1911.

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Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. H. JOHNSON.

SIGNAL FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 9, 1911.

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A. H. JOHNSON.

SIGNAL FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES.

APPLICATION FILED 1111129, 1911.

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Patented Dex; 12, 1911.

ARTHUR HENRY JoHNsoN, or EPSOM, ENGLAND.

SIGNAL non RAILWAY-SWITCHES.

Specification of lLetters Patent;

Patentcd Dec. 12, 1911.

' Application filed June 9, @1911. Serial No. 632,232.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR HENRY J OHN- soN, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at Wanganui, Ashdown Road, Epsom, in the county of Surrey, England, have invented a certain new and useful Signal for Railway- Switches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railway switch point signaling apparatus.

In apparatus of the above type as constructed at present, the signalman is informed either by audible or visual signals cording to one form, I provide an extension piece 2 on the point rail, 6. Against this extension piece a follower rod, a, abuts, the wearing surfaces being. of large. area in or- I der to minimize wear.. The follower rod, a, is connected to the point rail or to the extension piece by means of a spring, d, so ;that the working :faces of the follower rod gand the extension piece are always kept z firmly pressed together. It will be seenthat in the above arrangement the spring, d, does j-not introduce any additional resistance, to ithe operation of the switchover and above that entailed in moving the switch point, and consequently the spring, d, may be made 'as heavy as is desirable. The end of the 1 follower rod remote from the point rail has la transverse slot, 6, formed therein which Y in the closed position of the point rail registers exactly with a bolt, 1, slidably mounted :upon the fixed member, 9., The member, 9,

or in some cases by a positive lock in the signal mechanlsm of any failure of the pomt rails to take up their correct position rela-,

tively to the main rails. v

In applying an electric switch to devices of the type above indicated, it is in some cases inconvenient -or impossible to arrange for the switch mechanism being carried di rectly by the device to which it is applied. Under these circumstances, difficulty is experienced, as any relative displacement of the parts carrying the switch mechanism and device would result in the switch being operated either earlier or later than the point at which it was originally intended.

In existing arrangements, the connections of the signaling mechanism are formed by pins or bolts which rapidly become worn, and thus introduce an amount of back-lash which causes the signal to fail to respond accurately to the movement of the. switch.

The object of the present invention is to provide a railway switch signal mechanism in ghich the above disadvantages are obviate My invention. consists in the improved railway switch signal arrangements to be hereinafter described.

Referring now to the accompanying draw-.

ings which illustratemy invention and form part .of my specification Figure 1 shows a view of my invention as applied to a me-.

signal. Fig. 3 shows in sectional elevation the application of my invention to an electric railway switch signal. Fig. 4: shows a plan of the application of my invention to a railway switch signal mechanism in which both the switches are contained in the same switch box. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the view shown in Fig. 4, the section being taken on the line A.A in the direction of the arrow. Figs..6 and 7 show a detailed plan and sectional elevation respectively of i the switch box, the section shown in Fig. 7 ,being taken on the line 13-13 of Fig. 6.

In carrying my invention into effect acis tied to the fixed rail, h, by. means of an adjustable rod, 2', .bolted to the depending bracket, 7', which also serves as'a guide for 'the follower rod a.

As the. member, g, is tied to the fixed rail and the follower rod co-acts with the mov' ing rail,it will "be evident that no relative movementof the parts due to spreading of the rails can take place, so that when the point rail is in the closed position, the slot, e, will register exactly with the bolt, f. The bolt, f, is arranged in series with the wire, 30 Fig. 2, to the signal, 31, controlling the switch, sothat it will. be impossible to lower the signal into the clear position unless the bolt, f, registers withthe slot, 6, and the point rail is hard up against the fixed rail. Further, if a. foreign body such as a piece of icezshouldbecome -jammed between the top edges of the point and main rails, the parts would assume the position shown in Fig. 2. In this position, however, the-slot in the follower rod would not register with v bearing on the extension piece should be arranged as high as possibleso that it is just clear of theflanges of the wheels. 'The above arrangement may be-combined with both thepoint rails of a railway .switchby duplicating the arrangement just described, in which casetwo bolts would be arranged in series with the signal wire 30, and unless the slots-in .both registered with each bolt, it would'be impossibleto operate thesignal ever. 1

In Figs. '3 to 7 I have described .my invention connection with electric signal mechanism. In Fig. 3 Ihave shown myinvention as applied toan electric .switchsignal mechanism inwhich a Signal switch is arranged .in each switch box. -In .this arrangementa follower rod, a, is kept pressed against the point rail, b, or its extension iece 2 by means of a-spring, d. Thebearing surface of the followerrod and the point railis made of aslarge area as possible, so as to decrease the wear. To the follower rod,a, .a motion plate, 70, is attached; the ends ofthemotion plateare. guided by correspondingly shape apertures in the end of the box, m, ,containingthe switch .mechanism, The-motion plate acts toward the end of its stroke to move after a certain amount of lost -motion a similarly mounted detent member, n, by means of projections, 0 and 0. A movable switch plate, 11, rotatably mount-. ed on the bracket, s,-by means ofthepin, 27 ,is carriedby the plate, t, whichalso carries the part-28, .supporting.the stationary member,'29, of the switch. Terminals, p, aremounted on 'the .member,.-28, and are connected circuit with .an electric signal. such-asa-bell, g. Whenthe'membern r.e-- ceives:its .slight motiontoward the end of the-stroke of themotion plate, and theedge, 22, clears the edgc, "2.3, switch plate .7) .10?- tates on the lpin27 until it rests on the lower surface, 24, of themotion plate, and in 'doing' so completes a circuit between the terminals,

- p and .p, and soundsrthe electric bell, g.

On the point rail being moved .the reversedirection the. motion .plate,';l; ,.is moved backward carrying with it the detent mem ber, 91., by means of the projection, 0. At the commencement of the backward motion, the beveled edges of the motion plate coming in contact with the switch plate, 79, cause it-to be raised, thereby breaking the circuit, after which the parts return to their initial position.

p The example of signal mechanism which I have described is especially applicable to those cases whereit is impracticable to attach the switch box to the stock rail with which the point rail contacts. It will be noticed that the switch box, m, is not attached to the rail, 1), with which the point rail, 6, cooperates, but to the opposite rail, b If,therefore, any spreading of the rails takes place, the indication will be given too early unless special precautions are taken to prevent the original relationship of the detent and switch plates which control the signal circuit being disturbed.

In the apparatus illustrated the switch plate, p, ismounted on a bracket, 8, which is attached to a plate or rod, t. This plate is slidable in the box, m, and is attached to the rail, 6 by an adjustable rod or distance piece, The original relationship of the detent and switch plates will thus be secured in spite of any spreading of the rails, so that thesignal or other indication will be given precisely when the point rail is hard up against the fixed rail. Again the box, m, instead of containing a single switch mechanism, may accommodate several such sets.

In Figs. 4 to 7, I have shown the application of my invention to a duplex ra1lway switch signal apparatus. The two movable members, '22, of the switch are of the usual construction being linked together by ties, w, and operated by the rod, The rod, :12, is actuated by the shaft, 3 through a bell crank, z, and a connectin rod, 1, the shaft being operated from the signal cabin by any of the well known appliances. To the end of the movable rails, extension pieces 2, are fitted so as to be clear of the flanges of the locomotive wheels, and co-act with the switch mechanism hereinafter described for the purpose of indicating when the movable rails are in either of their extreme positions. The extension pieces are arranged -as high up on the movable .rails as possible sothat if the movable rail is-prevented from coming close 11 to the fixed rail say at the top, no indication will be given and the operation of the signal so as to give line clear will berendered impossible by suitable interlocking arrangements. Follower rods, 3 and 4;,

rod, 3, havin one of itsends carried by the bracket, :5, w ile theother end is .connected to the motion .plate, 6,sli dably mounted in are disposed beneath the rails, the follower the switch box, m. The follower rod, 4, is slidably mounted at one end on the follower rod, 3, while the other end is connected to the motion plate, 7. Followers, 8 and 9, are attached to the follower rods, 3 and 4:, respectively, and are kept pressed against the extension pieces,2,by means of the spring, 10, the follower rods being provided with large bearing surfaces in order to reduce the wear at these points. The motion plates are adjustably connected to the follower rods by means of the screwed connections, 11. Stops 12 and 13, attached to the motion plates, 6 and 7, respectively, actuate the detent member, 70 through a certain amount of lost motion the arrangement being such that the detent member only receives a slight movement toward the end of the travel of the motion plates in each direction. The detent member, n, slides in a groove, 19, in the base and is disposed between the motion plates, a spring, 20, being disposed on the side of the member to provide the necessary friction and prevent the position of the member being changed by vibration. Springs, 21, are also provided on the box to prevent the member, a, being overshot if the switch is pushed smartly over. Two movable switch plates 25 and 26, rotatably mounted on brackets, s and s, soact with the member, n, in a similar manner to that before described, and at the precise point of the movement of the switch rails complete the circuit between the corresponding terminals, 14 or 15, as the case may be. The completion of the circuit causes a signal such as either the bell, g, or the bell, g, to be sounded or in some cases it may withdraw a bolt and permit the line signals to be operated. The bells are of different tones to indicate in which of the extreme positions the movable rails are, and may be supplemented by corresponding visual indicators if desired. The switch plate, 25, is mounted upon a plate, 16, slidably mounted in the box, m, the plate, 16, being connected by a tie or distance rod, u, adjustably attached to the bracket, 5, fixed to one of the fixed rails. The other switch plate 26, is fixed to the box, m', which is secured to the other fixed rail in an adjustable manner by means of the bolts, 17. Any spreading of the rails will thus correspondingly alter the position of the switch plates but as the travel of the motion plates will be effected to a like extent, the original relationship of the co-acting switch plates remains unaltered, and the signal will still be iven when the movable rails are in either of their extreme positions. A strap, 18, supports the box, m, between the sleepers sufficient clearance being allowed between the bend of the strap and the box to permit movement of the sleepers without affecting the position of the box.

The operation of the device is as follows :VVhen the movable rails are in any other position than their extreme ones, the movable switch plates 25 and 26, rest upon the raised portions of the motion plates 6 and 7, and consequently the circuit between the terminals, 14 or 15, is not complete and no signal is given. If on the other hand the movable rails are moved into one of their extreme positions, toward the end of the movement, the motion plates, by means of the stops above described, cause a slight movement of the detent member, the end of which just coincides with the beginning of the beveled portions of the motion plates. When the motion plates and the detent member, 71., reach the end of their travel the raised switch plate 25 or 26 falls as before described, and bridging either of the terminals, 13 or 14, causes a circuit to be completed and a distinctive signal or other device to be operated.

The arrangements which I have before de scribed illustrate the application of my invention to railway switch signal mechanism, but it will be evident that my invention is not limited to such applications, as it may with advantage be applied to devices other than those mentioned. Also, by means of my invention mechanically operated switches may be utilized in conjunction with devices requiring the switch to be operated at a precise point in the movement thereof, and where there is a liability of relative movement of the apparatus and the box contain ing the switch mechanism taking place.

I wish it to be understood that the examples which I have described are simply to be regarded as typical and not in any way restricting the scope of my invention, as it is evident that many modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing beyond the scope of the same.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. The combination, with a railway switch having a fixed rail and a movable rail; of a signal, a follower rod, means causing the follower rod to bear freely against the movable rail throughout its movement and means cooperating with the follower rod for preventing the signal from being given when the movable rail is not completely set.

2. The combination, with a railway switch having a fixed rail and a movable rail; of a signal, a follower rod, a spring causing the follower rod to bear freely against the movable rail throughout its movement, and means cooperating with the follower rod for preventing the signal. from being given when the movable rail is not completely set.

3. The combination, with a railway switch havinga fixed rail and a movable rail; of a'signal, a follower rod, a spring causing the follower rod to bear freely against the movable rail, a circuit for said signal, circuit closing means in said circuit, a mounting for said circuit closing means, an adjustable member connecting the mounting for the circuit closing means to the fixed rail, means cooperating with the follower rod to prevent the operation-of the circuit closing: means 10 whenthe follower 'rod is not completely set. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR HENRY JOHNSON. WVitnesses:

WILLIAM BRYSON, P. A. OUTHWAITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of- Patents, washington D. G. 

